The Avenger
by RoseWisterias
Summary: A traitor to Konohagakure, Sasuke reflects on his life and the people around him, only to find that he is losing track of exactly who he is. My first story. Read and review!


**My first story! Sorry it's short. I don't know what possessed me to write about Sasuke, as I don't really like him, but whatever. Please read and review!**

**

* * *

**

Sometimes he forgot who he was.

There were certain things, of course, which he knew quite well about himself, things he would never easily forget. He knew his name, Sasuke Uchiha, no longer the last of his clan. He knew what people saw him as, whether that was a criminal or a confused teenager driven mad by his quest for vengeance. Above all, he knew his goal, and he would sooner forget his name than that, because he it was always on his mind: to destroy Konohagakure. Konoha, the village which he had once called home…but then, that was a very long time ago, very long indeed…

He had a team, a loyal team, though they could sometimes be selfish. (After all, they were all there by his side for their own desires, not really his.) And they could often be uncooperative. Jugo was aloof, Karin was clingy to the point of obsession, and Suigetsu took nothing seriously.

And then there was Madara. Of all the things Sasuke was unsure about, one was definitely his relationship with Madara Uchiha, the man who had changed his life almost as drastically as Itachi had years ago. Should Sasuke hate or respect him…or both?

No matter. They were his teammates now. There were no others. In only them did he place his trust… Or, at least, he had faith that they would help him attain his goal. Sasuke trusted no one. Not anymore.

Sasuke didn't like to reminisce. It was pointless and childish, and it brought only more pain, especially when he was feeling particularly nostalgic. He didn't like remembering the time when Konoha was his home, when everything was so simple. Not exactly easy - his life had never been easy - but simple. Everything was spelled out back then, black and white, with no shades of grey in-between.

He didn't like to remember being a part of Team Seven, or having found friends in his teammates. Ex-teammates now. There was Sakura, frequently a pest and annoyance, but a friend, nonetheless, someone who cared about him and whom he cared about. Though perhaps, admittedly, not as much as she had for him. There was also Kakashi-sensei, who had been, truthfully, the closest thing to a father Sasuke had had in years. They had bonded because they had much in common, from the Sharingan to the understanding of the pain of losing those precious to them.

And, of course, he remembered Naruto, whether he liked it or not. It was no small task to erase from your memory your closest friend. _Naruto… _Sasuke wondered if his heart was still set on returning him to Konoha, like a lost dog that Naruto had to find and bring home. The idea simultaneously amused and angered him. Didn't the fool know a lost cause when he saw one? He would never go back willingly.

However, Sasuke couldn't pretend that he didn't sometimes envision returning to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. He couldn't help but long, every so often, to go back, if just for a day, and have everything return to the way it was before. Sometimes he indulged in fantasies of returning and being forgiven for leaving and for everything else, and being able to call his former teammates friends again.

But then reality would come crashing back, and he remembered that all that could never happen, and that was what brought him pain. Those memories and thoughts hurt, and it only threw into shock relief one sad fact:

His sense of identity was fading as rapidly as his eyesight, and he was losing track of who he was.

He was not a shinobi of Konoha. No matter how much he or the people of his village wished it, he would never belong there again. End of story.

He was not a member of the Akatsuki. Granted, the organization essentially no longer existed, most all of its members having died off one way or another. But he still wore the cloak, he and his teammates, though if anyone asked if he was a member of the society, he would answer "No" without hesitation.

He was not a petty criminal, regardless of what people thought. He was neither a mindless killer nor a terrorist. He had a goal, and he would always have a goal. The one thing that mattered most to him was revenge. Just revenge, plain and simple.

Sasuke Uchiha was an avenger and not much else. He had nothing, despite the Sharingan and the immense power he possessed, the power which had been the death of Lord Orochimaru and Itachi Uchiha. Despite this power, he was a hollow shell of a human being, knowing no emotion but pain, rage, and hatred, and sometimes regret. There was little to nothing left of him. He had a goal, but not a purpose. No real, solid reason to go on.

From the time Itachi had slaughtered their entire clan, never mind his reasons for doing so, Sasuke had become an avenger, and swore he would do whatever it took to kill those who had destroyed his life.

But on the road to getting his revenge, he was unwittingly destroying his life by himself.


End file.
